1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wine storage and more particularly, to an alarm system that can provide alerts in the event of conditions which could adversely affect the quality of the stored wine.
The present invention refers and relates to a co-pending patent application Ser. No. 11/668,298 for a Wine Cellar Climate Control System.
2. Description of the Related Art
The storing condition for wine is critical to the proper storage and aging of wine. If wine is stored improperly, even if the wine bottle is sealed, it will age unpredictably and its essence will deteriorate. It is essential that not only the storing temperature be controlled at a desired range, but also in the case of the vast majority of wines using corks, the relative humidity should also be maintained within a specified range.
Storing wine in a climate controlled wine cellar is a suitable and economical way of aging and maintaining wine wherein the climate controlled wine cellar includes means to maintain the air temperature and relative humidity at desired values. According to the natural storing climate, most wine cellars are maintained between 50° to 60° F. air temperature and 50% to 70% relative humidity, respectively.
However, in case of a malfunction of the climate control system with which cellar is equipped, the quality of the stored wine could be irreversibly degraded.
Therefore, what is needed and provided with the present invention is a warning system for use with a wine cellar which alerts the user when the temperature or humidity is outside of the desired preset limits. It is an object of the invention to provide a continuous and economical method and apparatus for maintaining the safety of wine in storage.